COURTESY OF KARA TAKEKAWA
The Takekawa family of Kaneohe invites friends, relatives and neighbors over to their home every year to take part in mochi pounding. Peter Peralta pounded the mochi yesterday and Martin Fujimoto flipped it as Ryan Takekawa and Gene Higa looked on.

New Year's bash

Japanese culture thrives with some families adding an isle twist

THE WOODEN MALLETS pounded the rice into a white dough in a traditional New Year's ceremony, and mochi powder splattered everywhere, including the faces of the Takekawa family.

It doesn't matter if you're not Japanese. Everyone is welcomed at their cozy home in Kaneohe, where the whole family, friends and neighbors gather once a year.

In Hawaii, New Year's celebrations have become a mixture of the different ethnicities filled with food, drinks and fireworks.

"It's a beautiful mix," said Irene Takizawa, of the Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu in Kalihi. "Although Japanese culture is still perpetuated here, it's taken on a different meaning and practice. This is not Japan, so it's impossible to authentically preserve the culture."

COURTESY OF KARA TAKEKAWA
Michael Chen pounded mochi yesterday as Frank Mishima turned it and Peter Peralta took a break.

The Japanese culture has a traditional celebration that includes ozoni (mochi soup) for good luck and a visit to the church at midnight.

Most families always have sashimi at their gatherings, and while it's from Japanese culture, no one really knows why families in Hawaii go crazy over it on New Year's Eve.

"Sashimi is just a natural thing that you have on a New Year's table," said Shayna Coleon, the public relations director of the Japanese Cultural Center. "It's becoming more of a Hawaii tradition."

Jeanne Yamamoto said mochi pounding is becoming a lost art. Her family used to do the ritual when her grandmother was alive, but she resorts to using the machine, which is faster and easier.

"We're more Americanized now," Yamamoto, 55, of Pearl City, said. "Everything is getting to be because of laziness."